A monstrous crime

The child went missing on October 18.

According to the family members, the girl had been playing with her friends in the afternoon before went missing in the evening. Family members and villagers searched for her almost everywhere, but she remained untraced.

She was found at unconscious state on a turmeric field in another village of the upazila the following day, 19 hours after she went missing, reports our correspondent.

The child was found bloodied and tortured in a nearby field. She had burn injuries and stab wounds over her body, including her private parts.

She was rushed to a local clinic, from where she was moved to Rangpur Medical College Hospital for better treatment. She was moved to DMCH on October 25.

Doctors had to perform surgery on the five-year old to remove genital infections contracted from the rape.

Perpetrators identified

[caption id="attachment_25739" align="aligncenter" width="800"] The paedophile Saiful being escorted out from jail to court by the police Bipul Sarker Sunny/Dhaka Tribune[/caption]

The girl’s father filed a complaint with Parbatipur police station on October 20, claiming the family’s neighbour Saiful Islam and village quack Afzal Hossain might have been involved with the rape.

In the complaint, the father, Saiful tried to convince the family with some mystical theories, supported by Afzal, during the search which made the family suspicious about the duo.

Saiful was arrested on October 24 and was granted a seven-day remand by a Dinajpur court. Afzal was on the run since the October 20, reports our correspondent.

Saiful was sentenced to 39 days of imprisonment in another case earlier this year under the Women & Children Repression Prevention Act.

There were many complaints against Saiful physically and mentally abusing his wife of 20 years, Narghis. Saiful had also struck up an extramarital affair with his eldest daughter's mother-in-law. When Narghis voiced against the illicit affair, Saiful divorced her and married his in-law in March this year.

His family had shunned him for his moral bankruptcy and his brothers have lent their voice asking for a harsh punishment.